HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — With discussion of possible severe weather conditions across the Tennessee Valley, it is good to know first steps to take if your home or property is affected by storm damage.
AAA Alabama spokesperson Clay Ingram stresses that it's critical to know what type of insurance coverage you have before any possible storm damage occurs. "A lot of people don't really understand what type, what type of coverage they have, then they don't understand what's covered and what's not covered. So you need to talk to your insurance provider ahead of time to find out what is covered, what is not covered. In fact, the your belongings inside the house while covered. There are two types of coverage for that."
The first type of coverage is current value coverage. "A good example of that would be your couch in your den. And it may be something you pay $2,000 for some years ago that might now be valued at, say, $100 and that might be all you get reimbursed for it if it's damaged, if you have current value coverage."
The second is replacement value coverage. "If you have replacement value coverage, then they would have to buy you basically that new couch again. so you get $2,000 for it if it's damaged rather than 100."
Most importantly, should you have some kind of damage, let your insurance company know immediately. Ingram says to let them know "what kind of damage you have, all the bits and pieces that were damaged, make a written list of all those items, and take plenty of photographs of those items."
Better Business Bureau of North Alabama Vice President Belinda McCormick also adds that it is very important to do your homework even as it relates to choosing the right contractors. "We see a lot of of storm chasers is what's called somebody coming into our area. And then will leave. And if you do have some problems afterwards, you can't find them. You don't have anywhere to go to. So you want to maybe even check out if you really are considering somebody that's not from our North Alabama area."